Palau foodies have two new restaurants to feed their cravings

BY OYAOL NGIRAIRIKL
Journal Staff

KOROR, Palau — Two new family-owned restaurants have joined the foodie scene in downtown Koror in Palau offering additional choice in Koror.

Taty’s FoodHub held a soft opening on April 29, attracting dozens of Palauans anxious to try some of its western menu items.

Palau’s newest eatery is run by husband-and-wife team Clinton Tatekoi “Taty” Felix and Dee Dolmers. While they describe themselves as being different — she’s book smart and by the book, whereas Felix is more creative with an entrepreneurial spirit — their differences have proven complementary in their partnership in life and business.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Felix said. “She handles the books and the front.”

Felix spent some time in Washington state where he completed a Department of Labor Job Corps program in masonry, but jobs were slow, and he ended up in the kitchen, watching the chefs and students in that program.

“I always enjoyed cooking,” he said. It was in fact one of his primary jobs when he eventually moved back home to Palau and started working with his mother on her Airbnb properties. He would cook meals for the guests, but also took on other roles like tour guide or airport shuttle driver when needed. It showed him the multiple facets of running a business and the dedication required.

When COVID-19 became a pandemic, Palau’s leadership closed the borders. “There was no more work,” Felix said.

Dolmers was taking classes at Palau Community College and working as a librarian. Felix, who had long dreamt of opening his own restaurant, wasn’t so eager to work for someone else. It was Dolmers who encouraged him to start making bento boxes.

She would take them to Ernguul Park to sell. “The first dishes he put out was beer battered fish with rice and deep-fried calamari with rice … and people started buying,” Dolmers said.

They started advertising on Facebook “and it just blew up,” she said.

The menu expanded but so did their services. Felix had seen a Canadian entrepreneur on social media advertising and pre-selling dishes. Pre-orders were delivered. That also became very popular and soon he was working on larger orders for funerals or special celebrations or doing full on catering services.

Dolmers, after giving birth to their son, talked to Felix about working more from home. She had helped at the Airbnb, doing accounting work, and soon that became her job in their gastronomic adventure.

The restaurant is an unrealized dream for Dolmers, who said she always imagined working in a school or in politics. Felix said since opening the restaurant, “I’m just relieved. I’ve been dreaming about it for so long.”

Felix said they were able to open with the help of the National Development Bank of Palau’s Start Up Business Loan program. The financing helped with some of the cost of the building, renovations for the interior, equipment for the kitchen and furniture for diners, among other necessities. Much of the roughly $20,000 needed to open came from savings they earned selling bento boxes.

Felix said he was able to save some money on renovating the building, which used to be a car wash, by putting his masonry skills to redo tiling and other things.
Just days after their opening, they couldn’t be happier, but acknowledged it is a lot of hard work.

“The first day was like a slap on the face,” Dolmer said. They also said they have much more to learn to make their restaurant a success and they’re adjusting along the way.

Menu items include a twist on a Poke Nacho Bowl, which are deep fried wonton wrappers topped with poke, the Fish Sandwich with Taro chips, and Beef Short Ribs that stars ribs marinated for 12 hours and then pan fried and served with rice or potato salad and sautéed local greens. Meals start at around $10 and range upwards to $45 for 16-ounce Hub Signature Steaks.

The restaurant is located on Leebuu Street across the street from the Kumengai Bakery. The kitchen is open for lunch, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. but they hope to expand those hours. You can find the restaurant on Facebook at Taty’s Foodhub.

For the Lam family, HK Lucky Restaurant was a quick and easy decision, but took a little longer than they hoped to open their doors. Li Hua Lam manages the restaurant, located at the Neco Building in downtown Koror.

The restaurant is busy, but Lam interacts with all customers.

She said her family first visited Palau last year. Lam’s grandmother preferred to eat Chinese food, so they would visit local restaurants but were disappointed by the cost and the ambiance.

“It was very hard to find good places to eat Chinese food,” she said. What they found was on the pricier side of their preference. A few conversations with the family and it was decided they could do better. Lam, her brother and a couple of other family members returned to Palau several months later. They found their current location on the second floor of the Neco Building that offers a view of downtown Koror and started the paperwork. They opened Feb. 3 and have been busy most nights, Lam said.

It’s been an investment of around $300,000, Lam estimated, including startup cost and running operations through April. While it hasn’t been easy and the work hours are long, Lam said she and her family are happy with their decision.

They brought in chefs from Canton to make “good Chinese food” that seems to be a hit with visitors and locals alike. A good portion of Palau’s visitors are Chinese, and many are drawn to HK Lucky Restaurant for a taste of home while abroad. But the restaurant also draws Palauan and Filipino residents.

The stir fries, poached sliced beef, sweet and sour pork are among the local favorites. “And of course, dim sum everyone likes,” Lam said.

Dishes start at about $6 for milk buns to $35 for black pepper oxtail and $38 for scaled squid or braised sea cucumber meals.  You can find the restaurant on Facebook page HK Lucky. mbj